Marcus asked how much trouble we save ourselves by not minding what others say about us, and by attending only to whether our own actions are just and good. So much of our anxiety is borrowed: we run the imagined verdicts of other people through our heads on a loop. But you can't live inside everyone's opinion, and you'd exhaust yourself trying. What you can do is check your own actions against your own conscience, and trust that. When you've acted with honesty and care, the chatter of others, real or imagined, loses its power to unsettle you. Your own clear conscience is a quieter, steadier place to stand.

Inspired by the old idea of freedom from others' opinions. Written by Ugo Charles.